Burning in the Homeland
By Dormeur du Val
Disclaimer: Gundam is the creative property of Bandai Entertainment and I do not claim any ownership of their creations. So, please do not sue me!
Notes: This story is an alternate story arc picking up at the end of episode 5 of season 2.
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Disbelieving, Marina surveyed the destruction that was Azadistan. She had been away for less than a month; how could the situation in her country have deteriorated so quickly? Was this the work of terrorists or perhaps the Conservatives? Surely, the A-Laws, and thereby the Federation, would not be so bold as to ignore the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern nation?
"All those people…" Marina began, horrified. Suddenly, Setsuna hissed as he took a sharp breath. He spoke words too low for the princess to catch, but she could tell from the expression on his face that something more than the razed city below had shaken him. She then became aware that the view through the window was swinging away from her homeland and towards the dark countryside.
"Setsuna, what are you doing? I must return!" The pilot's eyes flickered to meet those of the princess. Then, he replied, "It is not safe here. You're not safe here. There is nothing you can accomplish at this moment." Incredulously, Marina swung her chair to face the young man directly.
"I refuse to abandon my people, my country!" she asserted, "They are my responsibility! I…" Instantly, the craft rocked violently and Marina lurched against her restraints.
"Damn!" Setsuna cursed. His normally composed visage turned to one of concern. Bringing the craft to a lower altitude, his gaze took in readings from the console.
"If we stay low, under the smoke, it will make us a more difficult target. Nothing critical was …" BOOM! The craft shuddered and began to tailspin towards the earth. Marina cried out, gripping the arms of her chair as the force of their descent shoved her against her seat.
"S-Setsuna…" Without thinking, Marina reached over and placed a steady hand on the young man's arm, watching as he tried to slow their descent and level out the craft. Briefly, Setsuna's eyes took in Marina's slim hand on his arm and then darted to meet hers. Marina saw a stark emotion in those normally veiled eyes that she could not name, and it made her catch her breath. She wanted to say…
"Impact in 15 seconds. When we hit, be ready to move," he informed her. Marina nodded, took a deep breath, her fingers tightening on Setsuna's arm.
The force of the impact threw Marina forward so violently that had she not been wearing her restraints, she would have been a bloody, mangled mess against the forward view screen. She expected to hear the sound of crunching and scraping metal, but instead was met with a VWHOOSH! she didn't understand until she unscrewed her eyes and looked forward. Through the view screen, she could see waves of water lapping against the craft. Leave it to Setsuna, Marina thought in relief. At that thought, she turned to look at the pilot and gasped.
He was pitched forward against the console, his chest restraint having snapped in the impact. Seeping through his unruly, dark hair, Marina could see blood. With shaking fingers, and while calling his name in a panicked voice, Marina fought with the buckle that would release her from her chair.
"Let…me…go!" she howled in frustration. At last, the belt unclipped and Marina fell gracelessly onto the floor. Getting to her knees, she moved until she was level with Setsuna's head. She shook his shoulder gingerly, watching his face for signs that he was coming to.
"Setsuna! Setsuna F. Seiei! You must wake up. You yourself said that we aren't safe here. Please, for me, Setsuna!" No response. Marina began to shake, her heart thudding with fear. He's not…She couldn't bring herself to finish that thought. Her whole body taut with tensions, Marina unclipped what was left of Setsuna's restraint and sat him up in his chair. Silently praying, she tentatively put her ear over the left side of his breast. Let there be a heartbeat. Allah, let there be a heartbeat!
What felt like an hour passed, and then, a noise more beautiful than a choir of angels sounded. A dull, slow thud followed by the shallow intake of air rushing into Setsuna's lungs. So weak with relief was Marina, that her knees were unable to support her and she melted to the ground, resting her head on the armrest.
"Thank you," she whispered thickly. Taking a deep breath, Marina pushed herself to her feet. What to do next? We must get away from here soon, but how? Where should we go? Marina glanced at the view screen at the shore. Though hard to tell in the darkness, it looked about a mile off from their current position. She turned to once again look at Setsuna. Still out.
The craft began to vibrate and bob in the water. Momentarily, Marina wondered if it was going to explode; then she whipped her head to look outside. Blue/green glows could be seen appearing on the shore. First, three, then four, now seven! Mobile suits! A flash of red flew across Marina's field of vision followed shortly by something heavy landing on top of the craft, pushing it so low into the water that half of the view screen was submerged.
They'll kill him! Marina's pulse quickened to the point where she was gasping for breath. She knew that whoever had razed Azadistan would not be friendly to the princess and would be even less friendly to an enemy soldier. Even if the force responsible for their current situation didn't guess at Setsuna's connection to Celestial Being, they would not let him live. Should they somehow know that he was a Gundam Meister, he would, again, be dead once they had garnered from him whatever information they could.
Thoughts only on Setsuna's safety, Marina ran through a dozen, unrealistic scenarios on how to save him. The sounds of the enemy trying to gain entrance to the inside of the craft reverberated throughout and only added to the princess's panic. Out of the blue, Marina remembered watching Sumeragi prepare the head back to the Ptolemaios. Relief and bleak hope giving her strength, Marina knelt on the floor in front of Setsuna, reached back, and pulled his arms over her shoulders. Inhaling, she stood up, slightly stooped. When she was sure that Setsuna's lithe, firm body was securely against her back, she made her way quickly to the stairs leading down to the passenger's deck.
Carefully, Marina navigated the steep, metal steps. The progress was agonizingly slow, as she did her best not to jostle or drop the unconscious pilot. Please don't let me be hurting him, please don't let me hurt him… she silently repeated. Though she worried, the shallow exhales of breath on her neck gave helped soothe Marina's frayed nerves.
"You can do it. Only two more," Marina said to herself. The sounds of banging where growing louder and the woman tried to hurry the last two steps as her sense of urgency intensified. This proved to be a mistake. She overshot the step and went down, knees buckling. Her knees slammed against the metal floor of the passenger's deck, sending a searing pain rocketing throughout her body. It took her breath away. Through some twist of fate, Marina managed to hold tightly to Setsuna's arms and he stayed against her back. Marina channeled the adrenaline and slowly regained her feet.
Finally, she reached her destination. Backing up the passenger benches, Marina gently deposited Setsuna and rapidly began feeling under the lip of the bench for the catch she saw Sumeragi use. Her fingers brushed a metal ring, she gave it a quick tug, and a section of the bench popped open like the trunk of a car. The space inside was both shallow and narrow, obviously not meant for people. Marina eyes it doubtfully, but she knew her time was short. This was the best she could do; it would have to suffice.
Pulling Setsuna feet first into the opening, the princess saw that the young man's litheness would fit within the space. Eagerly, she eased him more and more into the cavity, gently supporting his upper body. At last, she lowered his shoulders and head into the space. Looking at his unconscious face, Marina felt her heart lurch with an unnamed pain. Hesitantly, she reached down and wiped away a trail of blood that had trailed down between his eyes.
"Be safe, Setsuna. Thank you for everything." Closing the top of the bench, Marina heard a deafening sound of metal against metal followed by laughter that chilled her to the bone. Ignoring the pain in her back and knees, Marina darted up the stairs and threw herself into the chair Setsuna had occupied. Fumbling with panic, she fastened his broken restraint over her and threw herself on the console, mimicking Setsuna's position after the crash.
The door to the passenger deck whooshed open. Heavy footfalls rang on the metal floor. A dull thunk as the invade put his foot on the first step. The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.
Control your breathing…
Step.
He went right by Setsuna's…
Step.
Setsuna will be safe…
Step.
Will I become a puppet monarch…
Whistling.
Step.
Setsuna will find a way to bring peace…
Step.
Laughter.
Even if I am gone…
Step.
She couldn't hear anything. Was he still on the steps? Had he stopped? Tense, Marina waited what seemed like eons for any sound, any indication… Steeling herself, she opened her eyes just a crack…
"Yo," said the red-haired man who filled her vision.
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